Insecure Writers Want to Know
Happy Fourth of July, fellow Insecure Writers! Enjoy your holiday.
A genre I read but haven’t tried writing yet would be the cozy mystery. The whodunit. The funny thing is, I don’t know if I’m smart enough to create such a mystery.
We need a dead body—and a reason to be dead. We need a wide cast of suspects who all knew the victim. Connections. Or backstory with the victim. We need solid clues as well as red herrings and misdirection in the cozy. And we need a sleuth. I’m leaning toward the amateur detective. Someone who will assist the real detective as well as possibly irritate or at least bother him or her by interfering with the investigation because the sleuth has some connection to the Detective’s key suspect in the crime. As for my amateur detective, she will, of course, solve the mystery.
Those of you who create cozies, how am I doing? Do I have the basic mechanics of mystery writing? I realize there is more to creating a good cozy than just these major points. Please feel free to offer advice. Who knows. One day I might actually create a cozy.
As for Determination: A Mother of Five Conquers College, our fearless leader Alex Cavanaugh has graciously shared a short post I created about my college memoir in his IWSG post this month. Thanks, Alex!
Natalie Aguirre has also graciously shared a short blurb I created for my college memoir in her “Follower News” section of one of her interviews. You can see it here: http://www.literaryrambles.com/2025/06/author-interview-michael-p-spradlin-and.html Thank you, Natalie!
I’m considering buying ads for Determination: A Mother of Five Conquers College. Have any of you purchased Facebook ads or any other kind of advertising to promote sales of your book? Please share any tips you may have. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
**Please Note:
I will not post in August. I need to focus on promoting my college memoir. You can purchase a copy here: https://books2read.com/Determination-A-Mother-of-Five-Conquers-College Thank you!
So, how about you? Is there a genre you’d like to try and write? More power to you! Go for it!
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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I’d like to thank our co-hosts for July: Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour! Please visit them if you can.
Our group posts on the first Wednesday of every month. To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.
Cozy mystery is a popular choice today.
Happy to host you today and congratulations! Louise also featured you as well.
Wonderful! Thank you for telling me, Alex! Just got back from vacation, so I’m a little late on comments. Happy 4th of July!
I did always suspect cozy mystery would be a tough nut to crack and get right. I find it hard enough to solve while reading, so writing must need an intense skill set.
I think so too, Nick. Thanks so much for your note here at Adventures in Writing. Have a beautiful weekend!
Yes, I think you’ve got the general idea for a cozy mystery. I’d like to try one too.
It sounds so methodical, but I’m sure there is more to it. Thanks for your note, Natalie. Happy 4th of July!
Congratulations on your book release!
And I have thought of cozy mystery, but I’m not sure I could successfully get all my red herrings and actual foreshadowing elements in a row.
It does sound like you know all the elements – I suggest giving it a try. Why not?
Thank you for your good wishes about Determination: A Mother of Five Conquers College, Tyrean.
Oooo, foreshadowing. Forgot that one. I’m not sure I can get everything together to write a cozy either. But somehow, I think I should try.
I think if I really were going to try something new it would be historical fiction, but cozy mystery sounds fun too.
Oh, I love historical fiction, too, Liza. Not sure I’m smart enough for that one either. Have a beautiful weekend!
Congrats on the release!
Mystery…so many rules. I looked into it once upon a time but that’s a genre that takes full dedication. I think you could totally do it if you wanted, but the question is, is the effort worth it?
Thank you, Crystal, for your good wishes! You are so right that mystery writing takes full dedication. Then again, doesn’t all writing, whatever the genre, take total dedication? Becoming a writer is NOT for the faint of heart.
Have a beautiful week!
I have read many cozy mysteries and I still don’t know what really goes into them but you’ve summed up enough of what’s needed. But as for writing it, well, I guess it depends on a lot of things but we can try if only to find whether we could or not.
Have a lovely day.
I love cozies, Lissa. They are not as “messy” at police procedurals or the more graphic mysteries. And yes, I think cozies are more difficult to create than just the steps I enumerated here. Have a beautiful weekend!
You dream of writing the genre I write (and yes, you have most of the basic elements down. If you read a lot of mysteries, you can manage the structure!). And you’ve published the genre I’m thinking about writing (memoir)! Best of luck with the new release, and I am in awe of you pulling that off with all the kids underfoot.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Rebecca. Writing, and attending college, while having five kids “underfoot” was truly an arduous task. But so worth it. Memoir is still needed in today’s society. To know we’re not alone. To see how others accomplished something. More power to you. Definitely try memoir. Start with a personal essay. Let me know if I can help.
Thanks for letting me know I have the basics to writing cozies. But I’m sure there’s much more to it. I should check out your cozies. Have a good day!
Any mystery is a challenge: the motive, opportunity, and means. Cozy mysteries are even more complex because they feature an amateur sleuth. Still, you also need to include a bit of the police procedural for the professionals who are not solving the mystery.
Absolutely right, Larry. Thank you for reminding me of that. There is so much to know about genre writing. Truly appreciate your insight. Have a beautiful day!
I love the picture of you, Lee! ~ You are beaming with joy. I think you could do just about anything you put your mind to ~ certainly a cozy mystery. I wish you lots of success as you promote your memoir.
I was on my way to hike in Glacier National Park in Montana with my adult twins. We had a fabulous time!
Thank you so much, Louise, for your vote of confidence in my ability to accomplish things. I truly need to hear this. Have a beautiful week!